United States District Court for Western District of Washington at Tacoma, has given an order that Abidemi Rufai should remain in detention.
Rufai, who is an aide to Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, is currently embroiled in $350,000 COVID-19 unemployment fraud in the United States.
Read Also: Gov Dapo Abiodun’s Aide, Abidemi Rufai Arrested Over $350m COVID-19 Unemployment Fraud In US
The order follows allegations by United States Department of Justice that a surety provided by the suspended aide to Ogun Governor, is a suspected fraudster.
US authorities said the surety, a nurse, Nekpen Soyemi, is a suspected fraudster and should not be allowed to stand surety for Rufai.
Read Also: US Says Surety Provided By Dapo Abiodun’s Aide, Abidemi Rufai Is A Suspected Fraudster
He was supposed to have been released on Wednesday but the court granted a motion by the US government for “a stay of the release order.”
United States District Judge, Benjamin Settle, has however, granted the government’s motion to stay release of Rufai.
Read Also: Ogun Governor Suspends Aide Arrested For Alleged Fraud In US
According to PremiumTimes, a court document stated;
The release order is stayed, and the defendant shall remain in custody pending this Court’s decision on the government’s motion for review.
Earlier, when the suspect first appeared in court on May 19, he was denied bail because his brother, Alaba Rufai, who is listed in court records, could not post the $300,000 surety bond for his bail.
It would be recalled that Rufai was arrested while trying to get out of America on May 14 after allegedly using the identities of more than 100 Washington residents to steal more than $350,000 in unemployment benefits from Washington State Employment Security Department (ESD) during COVID-19 pandemic last year.
Read Also: Gov Dapo Abiodun’s Aide, Abidemi Rufai Arrested Over $350m COVID-19 Unemployment Fraud In US
Michael Barrow, lawyer to Rufai, who has since been suspended by Governor Abiodun, denied “involvement in these transactions.”
